Deck 12: Contingency Theories of Leadership

Question 1

The four contingency theories presented have all of the following common assumptions except

A)They are theories rather than just someone's opinion
B)They assume the leader can diagnose key aspects
C)They all assume leaders can act in a flexible manner
D)They all assume a correct match between situational and follower characteristics and leaders' behaviors have a positive effect on group outcomes

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Acceptance of a decision is not always critical for implementation.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to path-goal theory,followers will actively support a leader as long as they view the leader's actions as a means for increasing their own levels of satisfaction.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The normative decision model is limited only to

A)Decision making
B)Task behaviors
C)Goal accomplishment
D)Expectancy

Question 5

The highest levels of situational favorability occur when leader-member relations are good,the task is structured and the position power is high.

Question 6

The path-goal theory assumes that leaders use the same styles with different subordinates.

Question 7

The normative decision model has been established to be an all encompassing theory.

Question 8

The situational leadership theory is a useful way for getting leaders to think about how leadership effectiveness may depend somewhat on being flexible with different subordinates.

Question 9

In path-goal theory,redundant leader behaviors might be interpreted by followers as an attempt by the leader to exert excessive control.

Question 10

If a decision has a rational or objectively determinable "better or worse" alternative,the leader should select the better alternative.This refers to

A)Strategic agility
B)Decision acceptance
C)Problem solving
D)Decision quality

Question 11

Both leader behaviors and follower characteristics are important in determining outcomes in path-goal theory.

Question 12

Position power is not a characteristic of the leader but of the situation the leader finds himself or herself in.

Question 13

The least amount of time is taken to make and implement

A)Group decisions
B)Consultative decisions
C)Autocratic decisions
D)Delegated decisions

Question 14

Path-goal theory considers three situational factors that can serve as an independent motivational factor.

Question 15

According to path-goal theory,follower satisfaction is directly related to the degree of participative behaviors manifested by the leader.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the normative decision model is true?

A)The model shifts focus away from the leader and followers to the situation
B)For ease of presentation,each factor has been placed solely within one circle or another
C)It organizes concepts in a familiar initiating structure
D)It is about personal opinions,rather than a leadership theory

Question 17

In situational leadership,'follower readiness' refers to a follower's ability and willingness to accomplish a particular task.

Question 18

The contingency model of leadership maintains that leaders are flexible in their behavior.

Question 19

The normative decision model shifts focus away from the situation and the followers to the leader.

Question 20

According to Fiedler's contingency model,the content of leadership training should emphasize behavioral flexibility in leaders rather than situational engineering.

Question 21

Follower readiness refers to

A)How ready an individual is to perform a particular task
B)An assessment of an individual's personality
C)A personal characteristic
D)An assessment of an individual's traits and values

Question 22

Which leader behaviors are marked by attention to the competing demands of treating followers equally while recognizing status differentials between the leader and the followers?

A)Achievement-oriented leadership
B)Directive leadership
C)Participative leadership
D)Supportive leadership

Question 23

Which of the following statements about leadership is true?

A)Situational leadership theory maintains that leaders are very consistent in their behavior
B)Situational leadership theory maintains that leaders' effectiveness is primarily determined by changing the situation to fit the particular leader's style
C)The contingency model emphasizes flexibility in leader behaviors
D)The contingency model suggests that leader effectiveness is primarily determined by selecting the right kind of leader for a certain situation

Question 24

According to the situational leadership theory,four types of leadership behavior can be identified.They include all of the following except

A)Delegating
B)Selling
C)Participating
D)Modeling

Question 25

In terms of the path-goal theory,which of the following is considered a situational factor?

A)The decision quality
B)Leader-member relations
C)Position power
D)The task

Question 26

Which of the following statements about the path-goal theory is true?

A)It considers three subelements in situation favorability including leader-member relations,task structure and position power
B)If a task is very structured and routine,the formal authority system has constrained followers' behaviors
C)It maintains that follower and situational variables can impact each other
D)Redundant leader behaviors might be interpreted by followers as a complete lack of understanding

Question 27

What should leaders first assess in order to apply the situational leadership model?

A)The level of task and relationship behavior that has the best chance of producing successful outcomes
B)The readiness level of the follower relative to the task to be accomplished
C)The follower's current level of readiness and then determining the leader behavior that best suits the follower in that task
D)The behavior pattern that would fit the follower if that follower were one level higher in readiness

Question 28

Which two broad categories of leader behaviors did the situational leadership model originally identify?

A)Directive and supportive
B)Transformational and transactional
C)Behavior-oriented and cognitively-oriented
D)Initiating structure and consideration

Question 29

The highest levels of situational favorability occur when

A)Leader-member relations are good,the task is structured and position power is high
B)There are high levels of leader-member conflict,the task is unstructured and the leader does not have the power to reward/punish subordinates
C)Leader-member relations are good,the task is unstructured and position power is low
D)There are high levels of leader-member conflict,the task is structured and the leader has the power to reward/punish subordinates

Question 30

Which of the following statements about high-LPC leaders is true?

A)If tasks are being accomplished in an acceptable manner,they will move to their secondary level of motivation,which is forming and maintaining relationships with followers
B)They are primarily motivated by the task,which means that they primarily gain satisfaction from task accomplishment
C)They are primarily motivated by relationships,which mean that they are primarily satisfied by establishing and maintaining close interpersonal relationships
D)They will focus on improving their relationships with followers after they are assured that assigned tasks are being satisfactorily accomplished

Question 31

The only situational consideration in situational leadership is

A)Decision making
B)Readiness
C)Knowledge of the task
D)Goal setting

Question 32

Fiedler's contingency theory uses which of the following instruments to determine the relevant characteristic of the leader?

A)The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
B)The California Personality Inventory
C)The Least Preferred Coworker Scale
D)The Five Factor Personality Inventory

Question 33

Which of the following is the most powerful subelement in determining overall situation favorability?

A)Leader-member relations
B)Task structures
C)Position powers
D)Subordinate acceptance

Question 34

The delegating leadership style has
A.High task/low relationship behavior
B.Low task/low relationship behavior
C.High task/high relationship behavior
D.Low task/low relationship behavior

Question 35

Internal-locus-of-control followers

A)Are much more satisfied with leaders who exhibit achievement-oriented behaviors than they are with leaders who are supportive
B)Believe outcomes are a result of their own decisions
C)Are more satisfied with directive leader behaviors than they are with participative leader behaviors
D)Believe they are,relatively speaking,"pawns of fate"

Question 36

Leaders exhibiting participative leadership

A)Are very similar to the task behaviors from SLT
B)Are very similar to the relationship behaviors in SLT
C)Engage in the behaviors that mark consultative and group behaviors
D)Would be seen as both demanding and supporting in interactions with their followers

Question 37

In terms of the four leadership styles of situational leadership,a high task/low relationship behavior is referred to as

A)Delegating
B)Selling
C)Participating
D)Telling

Question 38

Situational leadership theory suggests that the leader should base his behavior upon

A)Valued rewards
B)Follower maturity
C)Task structure
D)Leader-member relations

Question 39

Situational leadership theory has its roots in

A)The University of Michigan studies
B)The Ohio State studies
C)The Yale-Harvard Leadership project
D)The Hawthorne studies

Question 40

This is the weakest element of situational favorability.

A)Subordinate acceptance
B)Leader-member relations
C)Task structure
D)Position power

Question 41

Illustrate how a leader might use path-goal theory to improve his leadership effectiveness.

Question 42

Write a short note on follower readiness giving an example.

Question 43

What is the least-preferred-coworker scale? What do the LPC scores tell one about?

Question 44

Describe the most striking difference between Fiedler's contingency model and the other contingency theories presented.What are the implications of this difference in an organizational setting?

Question 45

What are some of the problems with the normative decision model?

Question 46

List the four leader behaviors of path-goal theory.

Question 47

Describe a situation where the variables from path-goal theory would make certain leader behaviors redundant or superfluous.

Question 48

Describe how the Vroom and Yetton normative decision model incorporates quality,acceptance,time and subordinate development.

Question 49

Discuss the principal difference between the situational leadership theory and Fiedler's contingency model of leadership.

Question 50

Why have researchers criticized the contingency model?